Adopting E-Magazine, July 2012
Adopting Announcements
Photolisting: Now is the perfect time to raise foster and adoption awareness in your community. If you have your own blog or website, perhaps you would like to add our Photo Listing Widget to help raise awareness of foster children nationwide.
Would you like to help more children from your agency get adopted faster? Click here for a form to add children to our photolisting. This service is FREE to all states and includes a team of technical support and customer service staff to maintain the Photolisting.
Don't see any children from your state? Please contact your local officials to let them know you would like to see children from your state.
Blogging: Have you thought about starting a blog to share your adoption journey with friends, family or others in the adoption community? We're always looking for volunteer or guest bloggers with an authoritative voice on adoption topics, such as international adoption, foster care, unplanned pregnancy, search and reunion etc. for AdoptionBlogs.com. This may be the perfect time to voice your adoption experiences and share with our community!
Enduring the Wait
One prominent part of the adoption process is the wait. And you will do a lot of waiting. First there's waiting to meet with your chosen agency, birthparent, adoption attorney, or general adoption professional. Once you do that, you have to wait until your completed paperwork is filed and processed. Then, you have to endure the longest and most painful wait of all-the wait to bring your child home to your family. This painful wait can take anywhere from a couple of weeks to a couple of years and it can cause a loss of hope and faith and a great deal of emotional pain. So, here are some helpful tips to help you endure the wait, all while smiling and maintaining your hope and excitement for the future.
Find Support - The first and most important thing you can do for yourself is to find stable emotional support. This means something different for everyone, but options could include joining a local or online support group for waiting adoptive parents, meeting with ecclesiastical or spiritual leaders, visiting a professional counselor, or gathering your friends and family around you during the tough and happy times of the wait. It doesn't matter where you find the support; just find it.
Keep Yourself Busy - Keeping yourself busy by preparing for the coming of your child is a great way to remain hopeful. If you sit for too long and dwell in the negative feelings you may experience, it will only amplify those feelings. And you definitely don't want that. You can get the child's room together, baby-proof the house, learn key phrases in the child's native language if you're adopting internationally, or even research baby names.
Improve Your Relationships - Because you may have a long wait ahead of you, it's the perfect time to improve and strengthen your already-established relationships, including your spouse, friends, children, and extended family members. Take some time to get to know each of them on a deeper level. This will give you a sturdier support system and help you better understand the blessings of close, personal relationships. And that will make you even more excited for the future adoption finalization.
Get Away - Whether this child will be your first child or you already have children at home, the adoption wait is a good time to get away from the everyday stresses of your life. You could just into a local hotel or resort or travel to a hotspot destination. Use this time to relax and get your mind focused on one of the most important things in life--your family. Because adoption can be very expensive, you may not have the funds to plan an extensive trip to a tropical island for a few weeks. If this is the case, plan a little vacation right in your own home. Take time off of work and just focus on enjoying some time alone or with your family.
Enduring the adoption wait can become debilitating and it can even feel like you're suffocating. It can easily become overwhelming in a matter of days or weeks. But, if you try out some of the suggestions above, you will find that the wait is more manageable. When the wait becomes endurable, you will become more at ease and you will be able to appreciate the process all the more. Think of this time as an opportunity to learn more about yourself, strengthen your weaknesses, and improve on your strengths. You'll be a better, stronger person because of it, and that will make adoption finalization even sweeter.
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Sign up with Parent Profiles to create your adoption profile today and start connecting with expectant and placing parents. Your profile will be featured on many of the best known adoption websites. Mention you saw this ad or when completing your paperwork use code PPCN and we will give you 30 days free*.
*Contact ParentProfiles.com for details.
The information and links displayed above relate to profile posting services provided on the ParentProfiles.com web site, which is a service of Adoption Profiles, L.L.C., who sponsors this section and is solely responsible for its content.
Adopting Blogs from AdoptionBlogs.com
Flipping the Adoption Switch On and Off
One night, back before I met my wife, I was half asleep when my roommate came in and started to get ready for bed. “Turn off the hall light once you’re done, k?” I said with my eyes half open [more]
3 Things You Must Know Before Looking for Adoption Grants
In the last ten years and through the completion of three international adoptions, I learned a great deal about adoption financial planning and resources. I would like to share some of what I learned with you. [more]
Adopting Community, News & Events
Getting Started - Need HELP finding atty/agency in Southern CA!
General Adoptive Parent Support - Talking with prospective grandparents..
Add your non-marketing adoption related event at no cost. Get started today by registering for an account.
The Adoption Photolisting
Adopting Tip of the Month
No matter which state you're adopting from or your current home state, you are required by law to complete and pass a homestudy.
In Your Words
"I've been fighting to take custody of my granddaughter for about 7 or 8 months now. She was brought into the state of Alabama with her parents and only two weeks there she was taken by a great aunt, who threw them out, moved the child to georgia, brought her back to Alabama, claimed she was abandoned, and got custody of her. I went to court there and was told that because I'm not a resident of Alabama, I can't take her into my custody. So, I requested a home study to be done on my household and after 2 months they finally sent it; it took about 1 and a half months to complete and I've been given a court date. So, she has been away from us for about 10 months now and they're arguing that she is now bonded and attached to the woman who stole her to begin with; this is crazy but I'm still fighting. Don't give up hope. I know I wont. Hopefully this doesnt happen to many people, but if it does, fight it. It's worth it." - Stacy T.
Share Your Thoughts with Us
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